


Behind the Texts

by Anonymous



Category: Andi Mack (TV)
Genre: Andi Mack texts, Angst, Canon Compliant, Character Study, Cyrus isn't stupid and T.J. isn't subtle, Episode Related, Expanded Canon, Fluff, M/M, Middle School Drama, Missing Scene, blueberry macadamia nut muffins, exploration of the tyrus texts, in no particular order, kids these days, making what sense of canon that I can, what is the andi mack timeline tho?????
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-01-04
Updated: 2019-01-10
Packaged: 2019-10-04 08:26:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 4,670
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17301230
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/
Summary: A collection of related one-shots using canon events and texts to expand on/explore the tyrus relationship.





	1. No More Managing

**Author's Note:**

> I was inspired by the unsatisfactory way that Cyrus's text convo with Buffy and Andi about being cool with TJ went down. So here we are.

TJ Kippen is in love with him.

Okay, maybe love is a romanticized exaggeration. Cyrus doesn't know for sure if TJ Kippen is in love with him. In like with him. But...after that afternoon, Cyrus doesn't think he's wrong.

He really, really needs someone to talk to. After TJ had told him that he was the one who went to the police, Cyrus hadn't known what to say, and things had gone quiet where easy conversation flowed before. It was...confusing, to say the least.

Especially after all the things that TJ said before. Things that, when he thinks about them now, make Cyrus's heart speed up. _**BaBoomBaBoomBaBOOM**_ , and TJ hadn't even hugged him. Isn't even there.

Cyrus paces the floor of his room, chewing on his bottom lip, then his cuticles, before finally picking his phone up off the bed and texting Andi and Buffy. Before he does anything, he needs to make sure that they get off his back about TJ. It's not a feeling Cyrus has ever felt towards his friends before, almost resentment.

TJ thought Cyrus hated him. He'd been miserable. He'd missed Cyrus. A lot, if he'd been going to the swings just to catch him. And didn't that make his heart speed up too, T.J. going to their—to the spot where they first really talked?

He just needs to make Buffy and Andi understand what he sees in TJ. Maybe then they won't be so quick to decide TJ is still a bad guy. Almost, Cyrus thinks with a small frown, like they'd been waiting for the opportunity.

So maybe he's a little aggressive in his texts. It's not something Cyrus would normally consider himself, but he doesn't want another week like the one he's had. A week without TJ springing up with an easy grin, happy to see him, a hand on his shoulder or back or chest. Just a moment of physical contact, but enough to make Cyrus warm all over and give him something to think about for the rest of the day.

Andi says she doesn't want to meet at the Spoon, which Cyrus gets because she _does_ like to spruce...although he wonders if the lingering tension between Buffy and Andi might be the cause too, no matter what either girl says to him. All three of them at school has been mostly normal, but Cyrus isn't stupid. He's noticed the significant drop in group hangs outside of it.

For once, though, Cyrus doesn't want to part and parcel their issues. He just wants to make it clear to them that when it comes to TJ, they need to accept that he's in Cyrus's life. He has to be.

Cyrus is something good, to TJ. Someone he can talk to. Someone he cares about. The things TJ said to him... Cyrus swallows. Takes a deep breath.

**There's actually something important I wanted to talk to you about**

**Face to face would be better, but texting works too...**

**It's about the TJ situation**

Cyrus pauses, but neither girl replies. Frowning a little—he'd expected at least an eyeroll emoji from Buffy—he continues.

**He apologized and it was sincere and we talked and now everything is fine now**

Well. More or less. They had talked, and things were fine, except...

Except that TJ is in love—in _like_ —with him.

Cyrus is pretty sure.

**So thank you for caring about me, but no more managing, got it? Please and thank you.**

Cyrus is expecting anything but the response he gets. His shoulders slump a little when both Buffy and Andi seem fine with him talking to TJ again, a completely different attitude than they've had the entire week. Sometimes, Cyrus feels like they only use his issues to distract themselves from their own.

That's not fair, and Cyrus feels bad for thinking it, but... Neither of them had even asked how he ended up talking to TJ. They don't seem to care that he did. Is _that_ fair?

Cyrus huffs, but he is meeting Buffy, at least, at the Spoon. Maybe she'll have more to say in person.

*******

He already has his baby taters when Buffy shows up, smiling at Cyrus and sliding into the booth across from him. There's nothing in her smile that makes Cyrus nervous, but he is anyway.

“Hey.”

“Hi.” Buffy steals a baby tater, pops it into her mouth, raises an eyebrow as she chews. “So,” she says, casual, once she's done, leaning in on her elbows. “You talked to TJ.”

“I did.” Cyrus opens his mouth to tell her they met at the swings, closes it again. If Buffy knows about their spot, she might... Well, anyway. “We talked, and Buffy, he didn't know Reed was going to have a gun. And he wouldn't have brought me if he did.”

He _definitely_ wouldn't have brought Cyrus. TJ had said definitely. His heart is speeding up again.

“But he still would have gone.” Buffy's voice is soft. “Cyrus...”

“He wouldn't have,” Cyrus says firmly. “He told me he wouldn't have gone if he'd known Reed was bringing a gun.”

“Sure, he _says_ that, Cyrus, but...”

“But _nothing_. Buffy, he _cares_ about me.” Cyrus's voice breaks a little. “And he did the right thing.”

Buffy's brow furrows. “What do you mean?”

“I mean...” Cyrus takes a deep breath, fingers tangling together under the table. “I mean he's the one who went to the police about Reed having a gun.”

Buffy goes quiet, obviously lost in thought. In his pocket, his phone buzzes. Considering he just spent the afternoon with him, Cyrus knows that it probably isn't from TJ. He still wants to check, just to make sure. His fingers twist together more tightly.

“So that's why he was sitting alone,” Buffy finally says. “TJ told the police his friend had a gun, and now they're not his friends anymore.”

When she says it like that, it makes Cyrus's heart pick up again. TJ had chosen Cyrus over his friends. Cyrus never thought anyone would ever choose him over someone else.

_The only person I can talk to like this._

Cyrus glances down. Shrugs, going for casual even though his ears, his nose, even the back of his neck feel hot. “Pretty much.”

Buffy goes quiet again, and when Cyrus risks a glance at her, she looks like she's trying to figure something out. Eventually, she whispers, “I don't get it.”

“What don't you get?” Cyrus tries for cheerful, clueless, and it falls a little flat, even to his own ears.

“Why has TJ always been so nice to you?”

“He hasn't...”

“Cyrus.” Buffy gives him her best cut-the-crap look. “I remember how you two met. Even then, the way he talked to you and the way he talked to me was completely different. I thought he was a sexist jerk, but...” But that isn't true at all, and as much as Buffy likes to dislike TJ, she knows that, too.

Cyrus shrugs again. The baby taters are going cold, but he's got no desire to eat them, anymore. “I'm nice to him.” _Something_ _good_. He's good for TJ. Good to TJ? No.

Maybe.

Buffy looks like she wants to argue more, but she doesn't. Cyrus knows she and Andi are probably going to talk about it. Him. TJ. Him and TJ.

At least they'll be talking.

As they leave the Spoon to head to Cloud 10, Cyrus slips his phone out of his pocket. Just to check.

And smiles.

**[I know I already said it, but... Glad to have you back, Underdog.]**

Because TJ Kippen is in love with him.

 

 


	2. Wasted Baby Taters

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Is that...disappointment? Or is Cyrus imagining things? Did TJ’s face really just fall, or is it Cyrus’s overworked brain making more out of everything than it has to, as usual?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I probably should have mentioned last chapter that all the texts between Cyrus, Andi, and Buffy have been taken from the Andi's Texts game on Disney Now.  
> These didn't have anything in particular to do with TJ, but given the timing of them... I'm a shipper. I got one thing on my mind. 
> 
>  
> 
> Just a reminder that these are not in any particular order, and written as I'm inspired by the texts.

**Baby taters? 15 minutes?**

**[I can’t make it...but Buffy, you should go!]**

**I’m here!**

**Just me, myself, and a basket of taters**

**Going once**

**Going twice**

**Ok. I’m leaving now. This was a tragic waste of baby taters.**

 

Cyrus sighs, slipping his phone back into his jacket pocket and preparing to slide out of the booth and stand. The baby taters he ordered almost seem to be mocking him. _Your friends are too busy for you_ , they taunt, and he grabs them quickly, prepared to hurl them in the garbage and maybe go for a swing. Worry about whether or not Buffy is really not mad at him anymore for what happened at her game.

“Are you leaving?”

The voice startles him out of his thoughts, and Cyrus realizes he’s been standing there next to the booth, holding his basket of baby taters like some sort of zonked out weirdo. He sets the basket down, turns to face the person asking the question, already apologizing.

“Yeah, sorry, I was just… TJ.”

“No, I’m pretty sure I’m TJ.” The taller boy smiles, wide, so that the corners of his eyes scrunch up and his cheeks pop. Cyrus must still look flabbergasted, because TJ laughs, light, reaches up and taps his forehead gently. “Are you alright, Underdog?”

Cyrus sways, his face heating up. “Fine,” he squeaks, then clears his throat, tries again. “I’m fine.”

His efforts just make TJ smile wider, but he doesn’t tease. His eyes flicker to the basket on the table, and then back to Cyrus’s face, and he quirks a brow. “You’re just gonna throw out those tots? That’s a waste.”

“That’s what I said!” Cyrus cries, which seems to be all TJ needs to throw himself into the booth where Cyrus had been sitting, picking one up and popping it into his mouth. His eyes are on Cyrus as he chews, and Cyrus…

Cyrus is resolutely not looking at the crumbs on TJ’s bottom lip. It’s just a weird thing to notice; it makes his stomach squirm slightly. Should he tell him? No, because then TJ would wonder why Cyrus was looking at his mouth, and Cyrus really doesn’t want to have that conversation when he’s not sure why himself.

TJ’s lips look really soft, though, and a little greasy from the baby taters. Cyrus digs his teeth into own bottom lip, wondering--

“Are you going to sit down or what?”

Blinking, flushing, Cyrus’s gaze jerks up to meet TJ’s gaze. It doesn’t seem like he’s even noticed that Cyrus was just looking at his mouth.

Small favors, he thinks, an edge of panic making even his thoughts seem shaky. “Um, I really was just leaving.”

Is that...disappointment? Or is Cyrus imagining things? Did TJ’s face really just fall, or is it Cyrus’s overworked brain making more out of everything than it has to, as usual?

“Oh. Alright.”

That was a definite slump to TJ’s shoulders. Maybe. No, it was. TJ doesn’t want him to leave.

Cyrus’s stomach is squirming again. He thinks about Buffy, how angry she was that he was spending time with _Toxic TJ_.

Then he thinks about the way TJ looked when Cyrus told him there was nothing wrong with him.

“I can stay for a bit though,” Cyrus says without any further hesitation, and slides into the booth.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm already working on the next part of this. Hope it stays enjoyable.


	3. Conflict Resolution Skills

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “I don’t believe you.”
> 
> TJ looks at Cyrus like he might as well have slapped him. Cyrus’s throat is feeling tight again, his eyes sting. His arms squeeze himself more tightly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I low-key had to edit a couple of these texts because the app had grammar errors. Just a head's up. Also I left off the emojis because I'm typing this up on a computer and that's a hassle.

Buffy leaves him standing there as she storms away, leaves Cyrus feeling small, confused. No matter how many times that he yells after her that Cyrus chooses her, she doesn’t turn around.

It’s like a nightmare, except that when he pinches himself, it hurts. And it’s going to leave a bruise.

He swallows, trying to get rid of the thickness in his throat. His eyes are burning, his nose stings, his legs feel like they aren’t working right when he jerkily turns to walk home. Cyrus wishes he could just turn his brain off, do something to stop thinking.

TJ had said that Buffy wouldn’t find out. He’d said not to worry. And Cyrus had _trusted_ him. Had…

 _Why_ had Cyrus trusted him? Over Buffy? He knows what a jerk he is to her! TJ Kippen is a bully, and having dyscalculia isn’t an excuse for that kind of behavior, no matter how vulnerable it makes him feel.

Cyrus's fingers shake as he types out a text to Andi, not paying much attention to where he's going.

**Hi.**

**I’m really sad and confused**

**[I bet. What happened with you and TJ and Buffy?]**  

Cyrus winces. So Buffy has already talked to Andi. Of course she has. Andi is their best friend. If they’re fighting with each other, neither of them really has anyone else to turn to.

**It’s a big ugly complicated angry mess.**

And it’s all Cyrus’s fault, for thinking a stupid muffin and ten minutes on the swings meant anything to a guy like TJ.

**[She’s really upset with you.]**

Cyrus _knows_.

**Yes, that part I’m clear on.**

**[Did you somehow tell TJ how to manipulate her?]**  

**It wasn’t like that.**

He’d been so surprised that TJ said yes to his bar mitzvah party, so easily. No hesitation. He’d been caught off guard.

_Hey, uh, can I ask you something about Buffy? ...Let’s say I needed to get her to do something for me._

**I didn’t mean to!**

_You might not like saying this, but Buffy will love hearing it._

**It wasn’t malicious!**

**Which - as my friend - she should know I never am!**

_I shouldn’t have told you that._

_Ah, don’t worry. She won’t find out._

What had Cyrus been thinking?

**[You need to talk to her.]**

**I did!**

**She wouldn’t let me apologize**

**And she made me pick between her and TJ**

**Who I like**

Cyrus’s heart thumps against his ribs, hard, and he shakes his head, thumbs moving quickly over the screen. Just to clarify.

**For reasons she doesn’t understand. And I totally get that!**

Cyrus doesn’t understand them either. He doesn’t understand them, and he doesn’t _want_ to like TJ. He doesn’t want to feel this stupid pull towards a bullying jerk who used him--used him to get to Buffy and get her kicked off the team.

**I said I chose her 100%**

**But she’s still mad at me**

**I feel terrible. But is that fair?? I CHOSE HER!**

He hates that Buffy even thought he wouldn’t. TJ Kippen is nothing to him. Not now, anyway. Not after what he did to Buffy, never mind the way he manipulated Cyrus…

**[No…]**

**[But it’s TJ. You know he’s horrible to her]**

Cyrus does know that. He’s very, very aware of it. Just like he’s been hyper aware of how _not_ horrible to him TJ is. Cyrus didn’t understand it, before. Now that he does, he feels sick.

Used.

**[So I’m sure you being friends with him makes her feel really vulnerable]**

**[And she’s moving in a few days and I don’t want her to go feeling like this.]**

**Neither do I!**

Does Andi think Cyrus likes being a terrible friend? Does she think Cyrus wanted to make his best friend feel so awful?

**But why did she assume the worst of me?**

Why is _Andi_?

**[Well, maybe TJ presented it in the worst possible way]**

**That is possible**

Cyrus knows that TJ can be...caustic. There’s a very real possibility that the whole thing is a misunderstanding, and TJ didn’t just use him, and…

His phone buzzes again.  

**[So you’ll try to talk to her again? In person?]**

Cyrus sighs.

**Yes**

**But I’m not going to grovel!**

**(again)**

**[Why not?!]**

**[I did and it’s not even my fight!]**

Okay. That makes Cyrus feel bad, but he’s not backing down. He’s not going to be the one standing in the street, yelling after someone. Not again. That had been...humiliating.

**Because I already groveled once, and it didn’t work and it made me feel worse!**

**And because I’m trying to develop better conflict resolution skills**

**[Oh]**

**[Okay, I support that - especially, if you can learn them in a day :)]**

Cyrus stares down at Andi’s last text, the smiley face instead of an emoji. His chest feels like it’s burning. Turning the screen off, Cyrus shoves his phone into his pocket and glances around. Somehow, his feet have carried him close to the park, and the swings. Normally, that would be exactly where Cyrus wanted to go.

Now, though… The swings make him think of TJ. Who is the absolute last person Cyrus wants to or should be thinking of.

The downside, he guesses, of sharing a special place with someone. Not that Cyrus would really know. He's never done it before.

So Cyrus doesn’t stop, ducks his head and shuffles along with the intention of getting past the park as quickly as possible.

“Hey, Cyrus!”

He almost trips. Speak of the devil, Cyrus thinks, swallowing once as he slowly turns around. TJ is approaching him, hair damp with sweat, wearing his basketball hoodie and a pair of shorts. His face is red, like he’s been running. Cyrus takes a step back.

TJ frowns, but doesn't let that stop him.

“Hey, listen, I wanted to tell you--”

“That you told Buffy what I told you?” The words are out, louder than he means them to be. Not that Cyrus meant to say them at all. “That you used what I told you to get her to do something that got her kicked off the team?”

TJ falters. “Cyrus, that’s not what happened.”

“Isn’t it?” Cyrus sniffs, wraps his arms around himself and takes another step away from TJ. The taller boy’s eyes flicker down, eyeing the distance between them, and then he steps closer, reaching a hand out. Cyrus backs away again.

“Underdog, c’mon. Buffy finding out was an accident.” TJ's hands ball into fists at his side.

“And getting her kicked off the team?!”

TJ’s jaw clenches and he looks away, breathes in deeply. When he looks back at Cyrus, his face is calm. Blank. “I didn’t mean for that to happen.”

“I don’t believe you.”

TJ looks at Cyrus like he might as well have slapped him. Cyrus’s throat is feeling tight again, his eyes sting. His arms squeeze himself more tightly.  

“All that happened was I told Coleman. About…” TJ trails off, a little uncomfortable, shifts his weight. Leans in a little closer, lowers his voice. “About what we talked about. But he needed to know why my homework was turned in and everything was right! I had to tell him about Buffy!”

“You shouldn’t have had Buffy do your homework for you in the first place!” Cyrus yells. He yells. It even takes him by surprise, and his mouth shuts with a click, eyes wide, startled, blinking rapidly.

He’s just yelled at TJ Kippen. He’s dead. Cyrus shuts his eyes, braces himself for something--to be grabbed, maybe punched.

Nothing happens. When he risks cracking one eye open, TJ is just...staring at him. Cyrus doesn't understand the look on his face.

Neither boy says anything for so long, staring at each other, that Cyrus almost starts crying again. TJ has no right to look at him like that. Not now.

Not ever.

Cyrus takes a deep breath. “Buffy says I can’t be friends with her _and_ you.”

TJ drops his eyes, finally, looking away. He gives a jerky nod. “Okay,” he says, soft. Soft in the way Cyrus has only ever heard TJ use when talking to him. Soft like he was at his bar mitzvah, teasing him as he twisted open the cider bottle just enough for Cyrus to finish it himself.

Why can’t that TJ be the _real_ one?

“I didn’t mean to mess your life up,” TJ continues. Cyrus stares down at his feet, because he can’t look at him anymore. “I… Think you’re pretty cool. So…”

So apologize, Cyrus thinks. He hates himself for thinking it, but if TJ just apologizes, then maybe...

But all TJ does is sigh again. “Guess I’ll see you around, Underdog.”

Cyrus’s head snaps up, but TJ has already turned away. Shoulders slumped, head bent. Cyrus feels his lips part to call him back, and barely manages to hold it in.

He has to fix things with Buffy, and to do that…

Cyrus has to let TJ go.  


	4. Sunday night baking

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It is just such a ridiculous muffin flavor to think of. Cyrus has never heard of any muffin using macadamia nuts. Walnuts, he’s pretty sure, are the typical nut for muffins. Maybe pecans? Cyrus has never really given a lot of thought to baking with nuts. At least these ones are starting to smell okay. Whether or not they’ll taste that way is a different story.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think this might be my longest chapter yet. And I know it's been done before, but...every new fandom writer deserves to spin their take, yeah?

_Well, these are just going to have to do._

Cyrus puts his hands on his hips and sighs, staring at the muffin tray with a slight frown. He thinks the batter might be too thick, but it’s too late. He’s already filled the paper cups--he’d found ones with basketballs on them--up. Sighing again, Cyrus realizes he just has to do it, nerves be darned. They’ll be fine. He followed the directions, and he made sure to triple check the recipe, package labels, and his measuring tools.

They’ll be fine.  

On the table behind him, his phone pings. It propels him into motion, and he opens the oven door, grabs the tray, slides it in. Sets the timer.

Cyrus is absolutely not disappointed that the text is from Andi. He loves Andi, she’s his best friend, and anyway, TJ’s last message had been about meeting up with some friends. Obviously it wasn't going to be him.

 

**[You. Me. Bowie. Dinner. Spoon.]**

 

 _That’s_ a pleasant surprise. Spontaneous hangouts with Andi have been infrequent, lately. Everything’s gotten so complicated, and everyone keeps fighting with everyone else, and if this is what growing up is like, well… Cyrus isn’t going to dwell on just how much he dislikes it. There's not much he can do about it, anyway.

 

**What time?**

**[30 mins?]**

 

Cyrus glances at the timer on the oven, then back down at his phone.

 

**I JUST put muffins in the oven**

**So I might be late**

**[Sunday night baking, love it]**

**[You’re definitely not 100 years old 😉]**

**[What kind?]**

**Blueberry macadamia nut**

 

It is just _such_ a ridiculous muffin flavor to think of. Cyrus has never heard of any muffin using macadamia nuts. Walnuts, he’s pretty sure, are the typical nut for muffins. Maybe pecans? Cyrus has never really given a lot of thought to baking with nuts. At least these ones are starting to smell okay. Whether or not they’ll taste that way is a different story.

 

**I hope they’re good...**

**[They sound good!]**

**[Meet us at the Spoon when they’re done! Bex might join, too.]**

**K.**

**I’ll text you when I’m leaving.**

**[😄]**

 

Cyrus puts his phone back down, moves closer to the oven to try and see how the muffins are doing.

 

About forty-five minutes later, Cyrus slides into the booth across from Andi, taking the spot next to Bowie.

“No muffins?” Andi asks, pouting a little. “Why’d you tell me about them if you weren’t going to share?”

“They’re for TJ,” he explains without thinking. Andi’s eyebrows go up, eyes widening slightly, and she pulls back a little. Next to her, Bex raises an eyebrow.

“Is this TJ, Buffy’s bully?”

“He’s not Buffy’s bully anymore,” Cyrus defends. “He’s changed, and he apologized. He and Buffy are good now. He helped me put up posters for her team tryouts,” Andi shifts uncomfortably in her seat, drops her eyes, “and he came with me to tryouts to support her. The muffins are for a bet.”

“Okay, okay.” Bex holds up her hands, makes Cyrus think maybe he’s been too defensive on TJ’s behalf. “But I don’t get it. Why muffins?”

“There’s a whole…” Cyrus pauses, flushes, realizes he’s not quite sure how to explain the significance of the muffins. Also, he’s a little worried that if he starts talking about TJ now, he’s not going to be able to stop until he’s explained everything TJ has done to show he’s changed in detail, and that’s…

Well, judging from Andi’s reaction to finding out the muffins were for TJ, it might not be a good idea. He shrugs instead.

“It’s just a thing.” Cyrus decides to change the subject before he says anything that might be too revealing.

Not that there’s anything to reveal.

“So, uh, how are the wedding plans going?”

Bex and Bowie roll their eyes at the same time, and then begin talking over each other, complaining about CeCe’s interference. Subject change accomplished.

 

Monday morning, Cyrus gets to school a little early, hoping to get there before TJ does. He shouldn’t have worried, because TJ doesn’t slouch up until ten minutes before the first bell is supposed to ring. It’s a bold move.

He still looks half-asleep, hair barely styled, soft-looking, eyes half-lidded, and he’s clearly trying to burrow into his green hoodie. Cyrus wants to hug him. It’s just...he looks so soft, and cuddly. Two words Cyrus never thought he would apply to TJ Kippen. When he sees Cyrus, TJ blinks, smiles wide, straightens a little, eyes sliding down to land on the box of muffins that Cyrus is holding.

“Did you actually make me muffins?” TJ asks, suddenly right there and crowding close to Cyrus. Close enough Cyrus can smell his soap, the detergent the Kippens use on their laundry. The heat from the sweatshirt makes Cyrus think it must have been fresh from the dryer.

“Blueberry macadamia nut.” Cyrus tries to sounds proud, but really, his voice cracks a little. It’s something that’s been happening more and more lately, especially around TJ. He offers TJ the box, their fingers brushing when TJ takes it.

“What happened to, _'There's no such muffin’_?” TJ asks, putting on his Cyrus voice--which Cyrus would like on record sounds nothing like him--with a grin so wide and eyes so bright that Cyrus forgets how to breathe for a second.

TJ has never smiled at him quite like that before. Which is saying something, because Cyrus has had entire conversations with TJ where TJ doesn't do anything but smile at him.

Alright, maybe they're more like rants, but that's a technicality.

TJ's eyes look like sea glass. Cyrus's tongue feels thick in his mouth, heavy, even though he feels his lips part to say something as he looks up at TJ through his lashes, shrugs.

The brightness of TJ's smile fades, but there's still a glow to it that matches the one in Cyrus's chest.

“Thanks, Cyrus.” His voice is soft. TJ reaches out, wraps one big, warm hand around Cyrus's shoulder and gives it a squeeze. When he removes it, Cyrus feels like it's still there.

Across the hall, a locker door slams, causing Cyrus to jump and remember they're standing by TJ's, in the middle of school, not somewhere private.

Not that he wants to be somewhere private with TJ! He means alone with TJ. No, that sounds worse.

TJ sighs, glancing over his shoulder in the direction of his class. “I should probably get going. If I'm late again this month I'll get detention.”

Cyrus immediately stiffens, eyes narrowing slightly. “Late _again_?” He’s not even going to address detention yet. School has barely started, really.

“Can't talk about it now, Underdog, gotta go!” TJ taps his chest and then turns, hurries away before Cyrus can continue his interrogation. Cyrus watches him go, bemused. Trying _not_ to be amused at TJ's antics. Like an affectionate nickname and a light touch would make Cyrus forget TJ's comment.

In fact… Cyrus pulls out his phone as TJ rounds the corner, turning to walk towards his own first period.

 

**Late again?!?**

**[These muffins are so good!!!]**

**[Like. Amazing.]**

**Complimenting my baking skills isn't going to help you, TJ Kippen.**

**[Best muffins ever, Muffin.]**

 

Cyrus swears his heart skips several beats before it starts again. He hesitates, chewing on his bottom lip.

It probably doesn't mean anything. Cyrus just brought him muffins, is all. TJ tends to give contextual nicknames, it's one of the things Cyrus likes about him. _It doesn’t mean anything._ Anyway, if he waits too long, TJ might think Cyrus is reading too much into it. It's best to just act normal.

 

**Clearly we're going to have to talk about this in person.**

 

That's normal, right? Cyrus sounds absolutely normal. Nothing about that sends the message that Cyrus's entire chest feels fuzzy around the edges. He smooths his tongue over his bottom lip to keep himself from biting it again, worrying it raw.

The reply comes almost instantly.

 

**[Spoon after practice?]**

 

Cyrus grins.

 

**I'll be there.**

 

**Author's Note:**

> What am I doing with my life?
> 
> Comments are welcome, and don't forget to hit that kudos button if you liked it! :)


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